Collagen supplements may help with some skin, joint, and muscle outcomes, but current evidence is uneven and still limited.
Collagen supplements have become some of the wellness industry’s most popular products, with claims that they can support smoother skin, healthier joints, and more. But do they actually work?
A large new evidence review, which combined findings from 113 clinical trials, suggests that collagen may help with some health outcomes. As is often the case in nutrition research, however, the answer is not simple.
Collagen form may matter
Collagen is a protein that the body produces naturally. It helps give skin its firmness and elasticity, supports bones and muscles, aids wound healing, and contributes to organ protection. Collagen production declines with age, which is one reason supplements have become so popular.
But collagen products are not all alike. Collagen in whole foods may not be absorbed as easily as the smaller forms commonly used in supplements. These hydrolyzed forms are broken down into shorter peptide chains, which are thought to enter the bloodstream more readily. That may make it easier for the body to move these fragments to tissues where they could have biological effects, including possible support for skin, joints, and muscles.
Benefits appear modest
The new review examined research published up to March 2025, drawing on 16 systematic reviews that, between them, included nearly 8,000 participants. The overall picture was cautiously positive.
Collagen supplementation was linked to moderate improvements in muscle health and reduced pain in people with osteoarthritis. There were also improvements in skin elasticity and hydration – though these benefits built up gradually, suggesting that taking collagen consistently over a longer period matters more than a short-term burst.
Some of the findings were less clear-cut. Results for skin elasticity and hydration shifted depending on when the studies were conducted, with newer research showing lower improvements in elasticity but greater improvements in hydration. That inconsistency is worth noting – it suggests the science is still settling.
The quality of the research itself is also worth scrutinizing. The studies used a wide variety of methods, doses, and ways of measuring outcomes, which makes direct comparisons difficult.
Fifteen out of the 16 reviews included were rated as low or critically low quality – not necessarily because the supplements don’t work, but because of methodological problems such as studies not being registered in advance and poor reporting on potential biases. Many trials were also short and included few participants, which limits what we can reliably conclude about long-term effects.
Not all collagen is equal
Part of the problem is that collagen supplements vary enormously. Some are derived from animals, such as cows, pigs, and chickens, and others come from marine sources, including fish, jellyfish and shellfish. There are even so-called “vegan” collagen alternatives. Some studies used oral supplements, while others tested collagen dressings applied to the skin.
The way collagen is processed also affects the size and composition of the peptides in the final product, which in turn influences how it behaves and is absorbed in the body. Lumping all these different products together in a single analysis risks obscuring as much as it reveals.
Individual differences matter too. Factors such as sun exposure, smoking, sleep quality, environment, and hormone levels all affect how skin ages and how it might respond to supplementation. If studies fail to account for these variables, it becomes very difficult to know whether any observed changes are genuinely due to the collagen or simply reflect differences in participants’ lifestyles.
This review adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting collagen supplements are not simply expensive placebos. There appear to be real, if modest, benefits – particularly for skin hydration, joint pain, and muscle health.
The research base still has significant gaps. Without more rigorous, standardized studies, it remains genuinely difficult to say what is driving those benefits, or who is most likely to see them. Studies need to clearly specify the type of collagen used, the dose, how it was delivered, and the characteristics of the people taking it.
Reference: “Collagen Supplementation for Skin and Musculoskeletal Health: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses on Elasticity, Hydration, and Structural Outcomes” by Roshan Ravindran, Damiano Pizzol, José Francisco López-Gil, Masoud Rahmati, Laurent Boyer, Guillaume Fond, Laurie Butler, Angelica Stellato, Julia Gawronska, Yvonne Barnett, Helen Keyes, Pinar Soysal, Rafet Eren, Burak Onal, Dong Keon Yon and Lee Smith, 30 January 2026, Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum.
DOI: 10.1093/asjof/ojag018
Adapted from an article originally published in The Conversation. 
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